2005 Airline safety and security review

This review includes all significant safety or security related occurrences from 2005.
Numbered events involve the death of at least one airline passenger, and all events meet criteria set by AirSafe.com

3 February 2005; Kam Air 737-200; near Kabul, Afghanistan:
The aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain about 20 miles (32 km) from its destination.
The aircraft was scheduled domestic flight from Herat to Kabul and was diverted from landing at Kabul due to the effects of a severe snowstorm.
The crew had sought clearance to land in Peshawar, Pakistan prior to losing contact with air traffic control.
All eight crew members and 96 passengers were killed.
Boeing 737 plane crashesPlane crashes for airlines of the Middle East and Africa

18 March 2005; American Airlines 767; en route from Los Angeles to New York JFK:
The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Los Angeles to JFK airport in New York when a passenger allegedly assaulted a flight attendant.
The 48 year old passenger was then restrained by the cabin crew using flexible handcuffs.
Reportedly, seven passengers also helped to restrain the passenger during the latter stages of the flight.
At some point, the passenger had difficulty breathing.

After landing at JFK, the unconscious passenger was then taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The New York City medical examiner's office later ruled the death an accident that was caused by acute cocaine and
alcohol intoxication, which was aggravated by heart trouble.
No other crew members or passengers were seriously injured or killed.

20 April 2005; Saha Air 707-300; near Tehran, Iran:
The aircraft departed the runway, slid into the nearby Kan river, and caught fire after landing.
The aircraft had been on a scheduled domestic flight from Kish Island in the Persian Gulf.
The runway departure was due to problems with the aircraft's landing gear.
None of the 12 crew members were killed, but three of the 157 passengers were reportedly killed after they fell into the river during the evacuation.
Plane crashes for airlines of the Middle East and Africa

7 May 2005; Aero-Tropics Air Services Metroliner III; near Lockhart River, Australia:
The aircraft was scheduled domestic flight from Bamaga, Queensland when it crashed into a ridge about 6.2 miles (10 km) from its destination, the Iron Range airport near Lockhart River, Queensland.
The aircraft impacted about 100 feet (30m) below the top of the roughly 1300 foot (400m) ridge.
Air traffic control procedures for that area dictated that the aircraft should have been flying between 2860 feet (872m) and 2115 feet (645m) and observing a minimum safe altitude of 2060 feet (628m).
At the time, the cloud ceiling in the area was estimated to be about 900 feet (275m).
Both crew members and all 13 passengers were killed.
Plane crashes for airlines of Asia and Australasia

2 August 2005; Air France A340-300; Toronto, Canada:
The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Paris to Toronto.
The aircraft encountered heavy thunderstorms upon arrival in Toronto.
The crew was able to land, but was unable to stop the aircraft on the runway.
The aircraft departed the runway and rolled into a gully where the aircraft broke up and caught fire.
All passengers and crew were able to successfully escape the burning plane.
None of the 12 crew members and or 297 passengers were killed.
This is not a fatal event since no passengers were killed.
Plane crashes for Airlines from Europe

14 August 2005; Helios Airways 737-300; Grammatikos, Greece:
The aircraft was on an international flight from Larnaca, Cyprus to Athens, Greece.
Air traffic control lost contact with the airliner shortly after the crew reported an air conditioning problem.
Greek F-16 aircraft were sent to intercept the airliner and reportedly observed at least one person who was not a flight crew member inside of the cockpit.
The first officer appeared to be unconscious and the captain was not seen in the cockpit.
The aircraft appeared to have run out of fuel and crashed in a mountainous area about 25 miles (40 km) from Athens.
All six crew members and 115 passengers were killed.
Boeing 737 crashesPlane crashes for airlines from Europe

16 August 2005; West Caribbean Airways MD82; near Machiques, Venezuela:
The aircraft was on an international flight from Panama City, Panama to Martinique when the crew reported to air traffic control that the aircraft was experiencing some kind of engine problem and requested a descent from cruising altitude of 33,000 feet down to 14,000 feet.
The crew later reported that both engines were experiencing problems and that the aircraft was not controllable.
All eight crew members and 152 passengers were killed.
MD80 plane crashesPlane crashes for airlines from Latin America and the Caribbean

23 August 2005; Transportes Aéreos Nacionales de la Selva (TANS) 737-200; Pulcallpa, Peru:
The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Lima to Pulcallpa when the aircraft encountered severe weather conditions during the approach.
The aircraft caught fire after crashing and breaking up in a swampy area about three miles (4.8 km) from the Pulcallpa airport.
Four of the six crew members and 35 of the 92 passengers were killed.
Boeing 737 crashesPlane crashes for airlines from Latin America and the Caribbean

5 September 2005; Mandala Airlines 737-200; Medan, Indonesia:
The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, hitting several houses in a residential area about half a kilometer from the runway.
The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Medan to Jakarta.
All five crew members and 97 of the 112 passengers were killed.
About 47 people on the ground were also killed.
Boeing 737 crashesPlane crashes for airlines of Asia

8 September 2005; Saudi Arabian Airlines 747-300; Colombo, Sri Lanka:While taxiing for takeoff on an international flight from Colombo to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, air traffic controllers received an anonymous telephone call concerning a possible bomb on the aircraft.
The crew was informed about this call and elected to perform an emergency evacuation.
As a result of the evacuation, there were 62 injuries among the 430 passengers and 22 crew members.
One of the passengers died as a result of injuries received during the evacuation, and 19 passengers were hospitalized.
No explosive devices were found after a search of the aircraft.
Boeing 747 plane crashesPlane crashes for Airlines of Africa and the Middle East

21 September 2005; JetBlue Airways A320-200; Los Angeles, CA:Shortly after takeoff on a domestic scheduled flight from Burbank, CA to New York, the crew became aware of a problem with the front landing gear.
The wheels on the landing gear were locked in an incorrect position, leading the crew to divert to Los Angeles for an emergency landing.
The landing, broadcast live by CNN and many other television networks, was visually spectacular but did not result in any serious damage to the aircraft.
There were no injuries among the 140 passengers and six crew members.

This event was not considered an accident by either the FAA or NTSB and is in fact an airliner landing on a malfunctioning landing gear occurs several times a year around the world.
This event was considered to be a significant event by AirSafe.com because of the extraordinary media attention paid to the event both during the emergency and in the days following.
One reason for the interest was the fact that many of the passengers were able to view live images of their aircraft until shortly before landing.
Airbus A320 plane crashes

22 October 2005; Bellview Airlines 737-200; near Lissa, Nigeria:
The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Lagos to Abuja and air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft about five minutes after takeoff.
The aircraft crashed about 30 miles (48 km) from Lagos near the town of Lissa.
All six crew members and 111 passengers were killed.
Boeing 737 plane crashesPlane crashes for Airlines from Africa and the Middle East

7 December 2005; American Airlines 757; Miami, Fl:
The aircraft had arrived from Medellin, Colombia, and was on a roughly two hour stopover in Miami before continuing to Orlando.
It is alleged that one of the passengers, a 44-year old U.S. citizen, claimed to have a bomb in his carry on luggage.
Air marshals confronted the man on the jetway and shot him after he appeared to reach into his bag.
The man died sometime later as a result of his wounds. No explosive was found in the bag.
It was reported that this passenger had previously arrived in Miami on an American flight from Quito, Ecuador and had cleared U.S. customs before boarding the Orlando flight.
No one else was injured in this event. This is the first time sine 9/11 that air marshals have fired a weapon on or near an aircraft.
Because this passenger death was due at least in part to the deliberate actions of that passenger, this does not constitute a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com.
Boeing 757 plane crashes

8 December 2005; Southwest Airlines 737-700; Chicago, IL:
The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Baltimore to Chicago's Midway Airport.
After landing, the crew was unable to stop the aircraft on the runway, going off the runway, through the airport's barrier fence and onto a nearby street.
At some point during this event, the nose wheel collapsed.
The aircraft struck at least two vehicles, with the impact causing fatal injuries to a six year old boy who was a passenger in one of the vehicles.
None of the five crew members or 95 passengers were seriously injured.
This was the first serious accident involving the 737-700.
Because this event did not cause a passenger fatality, it is not counted as a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com.

10 December 2005; Sosoliso Airlines DC9-32; Port Harcourt, Nigeria:The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Abuja to Port Harcourt.
During the approach, experienced reduced visibility and variable winds due to thunderstorm activity.
The aircraft impacted the ground about 500 meters short of the runway and subsequently broke up and caught fire.
In addition, the runway and approach lights were not on at the time of the crash.
All seven crew members and 101 of the 103 passengers were killed.
Fatal DC9 Events

19 December 2005; Chalk's Ocean Airways Grumman G-73T Mallard; Miami, FL:
The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Miami to the island of Bimini in the Bahamas.
Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft experienced an apparent structural failure that resulted in the right wing separating from the aircraft.
The aircraft crashed into Biscayne Bay just off Miami Beach.
Both crew members and all 18 passengers, including three infants,were killed.